Cuenca is a province in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, Spain. The province is divided into 238 municipalities. Spanish census, Cuenca is the 44th most populous of Spain's 50 provinces, with inhabitants, and the 5th largest by land area, spanning . Municipalities are the most basic local political division in Spain and can only belong to one province. They enjoy a large degree of autonomy in their local administration, being in charge of tasks such as urban planning, water supply, lighting, roads, local police, and firefighting.
The organisation of municipalities in Spain is outlined by the local government law Ley 7/1985, de 2 de abril, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local (), which was passed by the Cortes Generales—Spain’s national parliament—on 2 April 1985 and finalised by royal decree on 18 April 1986. Municipalities in Cuenca are also governed by the , which includes provisions concerning their relations with Castilla–La Mancha's autonomous government. All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality in which they reside. Each municipality is a corporation with independent legal personhood: its governing body is called the ayuntamiento (municipal council or corporation), a term often also used to refer to the municipal offices (city and town halls). The ayuntamiento is composed of the mayor (), the deputy mayors (tenientes de alcalde) and the councillors (concejales), who form the plenary (pleno), the deliberative body. Municipalities are categorised by population for determining the number of councillors: three when the population is up to 100 inhabitants, five for 101250, seven for 2511,000, nine for 1,0012,000, eleven for 2,0015,000, thirteen for 5,00110,000, seventeen for 10,00120,000, twenty-one for 20,00150,000, and twenty-five for 50,001100,000.
The mayor and the deputy mayors are elected by the plenary assembly, which is itself elected by universal suffrage. Elections in municipalities with more than 250 inhabitants are carried out following a proportional representation system with closed lists, whilst those with a population lower than 250 use a block plurality voting system with open lists. The plenary assembly must meet periodically, with meetings occurring more or less frequently depending on the population of the municipality: monthly for those whose population is larger than 20,000, once every two months if it ranges between 5,001 and 20,000, and once every three months if it does not exceed 5,000. Many ayuntamientos also have a local governing board (), which is appointed by the mayor from amongst the councillors and is required for municipalities of over 5,000 inhabitants. The board, whose role is to assist the mayor between meetings of the plenary assembly, may not include more than one third of the councillors.
The largest municipality by population in the province as of the 2023 Spanish census is Cuenca, its capital, with 53,630 residents, while the smallest is Abia de la Obispalía, with 61 residents. The largest municipality by area is also Cuenca, which spans , while Casas de Guijarro is the smallest at .
Municipalities
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+ Name Population(2023 census) Population(2011 census) Population change Land area (km2) To access the information, scroll down the page and download the file entitled "Nomenclátor Geográfico de Municipios y Entidades de Población" by clicking the left icon in the column "Descarga". Then open the downloaded zip folder and the file titled "MUNICIPIOS", which provides the land area for every municipality in Spain under the header "Superficie". Population density(2023)Abia de la ObispalíaAlarcónAlbaladejo del CuendeAlbalate de las NoguerasAlbendeaAlcalá de la VegaAlcantudAlcázar del ReyAlcohujateAlconchel de la EstrellaAlgarraAliaguillaAlmendrosAlmodóvar del PinarAlmonacid del MarquesadoAltarejosArandilla del ArroyoArcasArcos de la SierraArguisuelasArrancacepasAtalaya del CañavateBarajas de MeloBarchín del HoyoBascuñana de San PedroBeamudBelinchónBelmonteBelmontejoBetetaBonichesBuciegasBuenache de AlarcónBuenache de la SierraBuendíaCampillo de AltobueyCampillos-ParavientosCampillos-SierraCampos del ParaísoCanalejas del ArroyoCañada del HoyoCañada JuncosaCañamaresCañaverasCañaveruelasCañeteCañizaresCarboneras de GuadazaónCardeneteCarrascosaCarrascosa de HaroCasas de BenítezCasas de Fernando AlonsoCasas de GarcimolinaCasas de GuijarroCasas de HaroCasas de los PinosCasasimarroCastejónCastillejo de IniestaCastillejo-SierraCastillo-AlbaráñezCastillo de GarcimuñozCervera del LlanoChillarón de CuencaChumillasCuencaCueva del HierroEnguídanosFresneda de AltarejosFresneda de la SierraFuente de Pedro NaharroFuentelespino de HaroFuentelespino de MoyaFuentenava de JábagaFuentesFuertescusaGabaldónGaraballaGascueñaGraja de CampalboGraja de IniestaHenarejosHonrubiaHontanayaHontecillasHorcajo de SantiagoHuélamoHuelvesHuérguinaHuerta de la ObispalíaHuerta del MarquesadoHueteIniestaLaguna del MarquesadoLagunasecaLandeteLedañaLeganielMarianaMasegosaLas MesasMinglanillaMiraMonreal del LlanoMontalbanejoMontalboMonteagudo de las SalinasMota de AltarejosMota del CuervoMotilla del PalancarMoyaNarbonetaOlivares de JúcarOlmeda de la CuestaOlmeda del ReyOlmedilla de AlarcónOlmedilla de ElizOsa de la VegaPajarónPajaroncilloPalomares del CampoPalomeraParacuellosParedesPinarejoPineda de GigüelaPiqueras del CastilloPortalrubio de GuadamejudPortillaPoyatosPozoamargoPozorrubielos de la ManchaPozorrubio de SantiagoPriegoPuebla de AlmenaraPuebla del SalvadorQuintanar del ReyRada de HaroReílloRozalén del MonteSaceda-TrasierraSaelicesSalinas del ManzanoSalmeroncillosSalvacañeteSan ClementeSan Lorenzo de la ParrillaSan Martín de BonichesSan Pedro PalmichesSanta Cruz de MoyaSanta María del Campo RusSanta María de los LlanosSanta María del ValSisanteSolera de GabaldónSotorribasTalayuelasTarancónTébarTejadillosTinajasTorralbaTorrejoncillo del ReyTorrubia del CampoTorrubia del CastilloTragaceteTresjuncosTribaldosUclésUñaValdemecaValdemorillo de la SierraValdemoro-SierraValdeolivasValdetórtolaValhermoso de la FuenteValsalobreValverde de JúcarValverdejoVara de ReyVega del CodornoVelliscaVillaconejos de TrabaqueVillaescusa de HaroVillagarcía del LlanoVillalba de la SierraVillalba del ReyVillalgordo del MarquesadoVillalpardoVillamayor de SantiagoVillanueva de GuadamejudVillanueva de la JaraVillar de CañasVillar de Domingo GarcíaVillar de la EncinaVillar del HumoVillar del InfantadoVillar de OlallaVillar y VelascoVillarejo de FuentesVillarejo de la PeñuelaVillarejo-PeriestebanVillares del SazVillarrubioVillartaVillas de la VentosaVillaverde y PasaconsolVílloraVindelYémedaZafra de ZáncaraZafrillaZarza de TajoZarzuela Province of Cuenca Castilla–La Mancha Spain
See also Geography of Spain List of municipalities of Spain
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